Remember: A bubble is a price far above worth, kept rising by hope, until it pops. Ask: what is it worth to use?
Read and answer
Read the story first, then answer.
Bloomvale's striped bulbIn the made-up village of Bloomvale, Nico grew tulips. One tulip was striped like candy, and as a flower its bulb was worth about two coins, which Ana the baker paid because she wanted a pretty flower. Leo the shoemaker bought one too, and a neighbor offered three coins for it, so he sold it and made one easy coin without growing a single flower. Word spread that a bulb bought today could be sold tomorrow for more, and soon people were buying bulbs they never planned to plant. The price climbed: two coins, then four, then eight, then twelve. Each buyer thought, "The price is rising, so someone will pay even more." Then one morning a seller waited and waited, but no buyer came. A few sold quickly to be safe, and the price dipped. Soon everyone wanted to sell and nobody wanted to buy, so the price tumbled: twelve coins, then eight, then four, then two, right back to a flower's price. People call that a bubble bursting. In spring the tulips still bloomed, for the bulb never changed, only the price in people's minds.
1
Look at the bars. The bulb's price at the peak was coins.
2
As a flower the bulb was worth about 2 coins. At the peak the price was coins above its worth.
3
A neighbor offered Leo 3 coins and he made 1 easy coin. How many coins had Leo paid?
123
4
A bubble is a price far above , kept rising by hope.
flowerscoinsworth
5
Price is what people pay. What is worth?
What the last buyer paidWhat it is good forWhat the seller hopes for
Order, match and think
6
Number the story of the striped bulb.
The price climbs to twelve coins
Ana buys a bulb for a pretty flower
A seller waits and no buyer comes
People buy bulbs to sell, not to plant
The price falls back to two coins
7
Join each word to what it means.
1price
2worth
3bubble
4the pop
Awhat a bulb is good for
Bwhat people pay
Cbuyers stop coming and everyone wants to sell
Da price far above worth that pops
8
Circle everything that helped the bubble grow.
Buying bulbs to sell, not to plantThe tulips stopped bloomingHoping someone would pay even moreBulbs became worth twelve coins as flowersFeeling left out when neighbors had good news
9
Leo says: the bulb itself changed, so its price fell. Is Leo right?
YesNo
10
Historians think the tales about bulbs costing a house grew taller than the facts.
TrueFalse
11
What is a good question to ask when a price shoots up?
Who else is buying it?How fast is the price rising?What is it worth to use, with no buyer waiting?
12
Bubbles have come since, over houses and new companies. What do they share?
A price that rises only on hopeThey only happen with flowersThey never pop
13
Write one sentence: how can you tell a price from a worth?
14
Draw the price going up like a hill and falling again. Mark where the bubble pops.
Scan the code at the top to mark this sheet on screenTake a photo of your answers or type them. It is marked for you automatically, and your score is kept.
Answer key · Set A
Tulip mania and bubbles
112 The bars climb 2, 4, 8, then 12 coins at the top.
210 12 − 2 = 10, so the price was far above the worth.
32 3 − 1 = 2, the bulb's worth as a flower.
4worth Price is what people pay and worth is what it is good for.
5What it is good for A bulb is good for one flower, worth about two coins, not twelve.
63, 1, 4, 2, 5 The flower came first, then the buying to sell, the climb, the empty morning, and the fall.
71-B, 2-A, 3-D, 4-C Price and worth can be far apart, and when they are, the bubble pops.
8Buying bulbs to sell, not to plant, Hoping someone would pay even more, Feeling left out when neighbors had good news Buying to sell, hoping for more, and feeling left out all fed the bubble. The tulips still bloomed and the bulb's worth never changed.
9No The bulb never changed. Only the price in people's minds did.
10True Still, prices did soar, then fall hard, in early 1637.
11What is it worth to use, with no buyer waiting? Asking what something is worth to use helps, even though nobody can always tell when a bubble is growing.
12A price that rises only on hope They all work the same way: a price far above worth, kept rising by people expecting more.
13Your own words: a grown-up reads it.
Mark each answer, count the right ones and write the score on the sheet.